0:00:03 > 0:00:06Welcome to Auckland Castle, in the middle of County Durham.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09For more than 900 years it has been the Palace of the Bishops of Durham
0:00:09 > 0:00:12and, at its heart, stands the largest private chapel in Europe -
0:00:12 > 0:00:15one of many special spiritual spaces
0:00:15 > 0:00:18originally built as private places of worship.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21So, in today's programme, we are looking at why
0:00:21 > 0:00:23these private chapels came to be built
0:00:23 > 0:00:24and how many of them are now
0:00:24 > 0:00:27throwing their doors open to the public.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30We meet the husband who made it his mission to build
0:00:30 > 0:00:34one of Britain's smallest chapels for his wife in their back garden.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37I'll visit one of the country's oldest family chapels
0:00:37 > 0:00:40to find out how it survived hundreds of years of upheaval
0:00:40 > 0:00:43to become a special place of worship,
0:00:43 > 0:00:48and congregations sing at stunning private chapels across the country.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55We start here in St Peter's Chapel at Auckland Castle,
0:00:55 > 0:00:56with our first hymn,
0:00:56 > 0:01:00which emphasises that Christ is the cornerstone of our faith.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05Nestled in the beautiful Durham countryside,
0:04:05 > 0:04:10Auckland Castle is rated as one of the grandest working offices
0:04:10 > 0:04:13for bishops outside the Vatican and Avignon
0:04:13 > 0:04:16and, at its heart, is a unique place.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18With room for about 150 people,
0:04:18 > 0:04:21St Peter's is the largest private chapel in Europe.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26It has superb stained-glass windows, beautiful stone pillars,
0:04:26 > 0:04:30six angels and wonderful intricately carved oak.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33It looks every bit the original medieval chapel.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36The truth, though, is rather different.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41It started life in the 12th century as a banqueting hall
0:04:41 > 0:04:45where the Prince Bishops of Durham entertained their guests.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49But, in 1665, it was extended and turned into a magnificent chapel
0:04:49 > 0:04:52by the new Bishop of Durham, John Cosin.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57Four years ago, investment banker Jonathan Ruffer
0:04:57 > 0:05:00agreed to pay £15 million to retain the castle's collection
0:05:00 > 0:05:04of rare religious paintings at Auckland.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10These are the 13 pictures by Zurbaran.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15A crossroads where different faiths,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18different parts of Christianity, meet.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22In the process, Jonathan realised he could also save
0:05:22 > 0:05:24both the castle and its private chapel
0:05:24 > 0:05:27for the benefit of the people of the north-east.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33It was also important to you as a matter of faith?
0:05:33 > 0:05:34It was.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39I have always wanted to do what I felt I was being called to
0:05:39 > 0:05:44and I came to see that, actually, the whole purpose of my life,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47that this was the culmination,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50that I was here to help this region
0:05:50 > 0:05:53and to do it through making this place of beauty
0:05:53 > 0:05:58something which would be available to the whole community.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00For much of the past 200 years,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03St Peter's has rarely been open to the public.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08Now, visitors can step into this magnificent private chapel
0:06:08 > 0:06:10and see it in all its glory.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15These pillars are, in fact, the oldest part of the edifice here.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19They date back to the early 1200s.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22The ceiling is very impressive too, isn't it?
0:06:22 > 0:06:24The ceiling is great.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29The gold and blue ones were Bishop Cosins' own colours.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33I think of them as his racing colours.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37The chapel was definitely for the Bishop's use,
0:06:37 > 0:06:42and all his chaplains and those who were close to him.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45But what this reeks of is exclusivity.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48And you only have to look at the screen to get the feeling
0:06:48 > 0:06:53that if you wandered in you were not especially welcome here.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57What is so special for you about St Peter's Chapel?
0:06:57 > 0:07:01I think it's that buildings are for people
0:07:01 > 0:07:06and what I want for this chapel, and for the whole of Auckland Castle,
0:07:06 > 0:07:09is that it's a place where people can come and be changed.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13A chapel like this should be open to the public to look at it.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17It has got history behind it of great interest.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22It's great that we can all enjoy these buildings now.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25They were once seen by very few people.
0:10:14 > 0:10:19Private chapels are as old as Christianity itself in Britain.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21The first were built as houses of prayer
0:10:21 > 0:10:24where monks and nuns could gather. Later, as with
0:10:24 > 0:10:26Normanton Church on Rutland Water,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29some landowners built chapels on their country estates
0:10:29 > 0:10:31for their own use.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34With the nearest parish church often many miles away,
0:10:34 > 0:10:37it was also a matter of convenience.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41Today, many private chapels are no longer exclusive places of worship
0:10:41 > 0:10:44and are now throwing the doors open to everyone.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46The Theology College at Cuddesdon, near Oxford,
0:10:46 > 0:10:50is home to one of Britain's newest and one of its most remarkable.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53It's hard when you walk into this building
0:10:53 > 0:10:58not to feel inspired in some way. People talk about the power
0:10:58 > 0:11:00of the light and a sense of peace.
0:11:00 > 0:11:05What strikes me is a feeling of intimacy that you can get here.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09It's almost like being embraced within a heart.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11This very contemporary building
0:11:11 > 0:11:15is the brainchild of a small community of Anglican nuns,
0:11:15 > 0:11:17the Sisters of Cuddesdon.
0:11:17 > 0:11:22The idea was that we wanted a design which was modern,
0:11:22 > 0:11:24of the 21st century,
0:11:24 > 0:11:29as well as one that would blend with the old college buildings.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33As soon as I come in the door,
0:11:33 > 0:11:36I feel the presence of God in this place.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39There's the light that we have in the building,
0:11:39 > 0:11:41even on a dull day,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44but particularly when the sun's beginning to come through
0:11:44 > 0:11:45later in the day.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49That is very much a reminder of the light of God.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53The Sisters' inspirational choice of design for the ceiling
0:11:53 > 0:11:54was an upturned boat,
0:11:54 > 0:11:59which harked back to the early Christians who set sail for Ireland.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03I love it visually. I love the significance of the rainbows.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07The effects of the light are always different.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09It's a beautiful place to be.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13Cuddesdon is the only college in the country
0:12:13 > 0:12:16where trainee vicars live alongside an order of nuns.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20The Sisters believe the chapel has helped create
0:12:20 > 0:12:22a special Christian community.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24You know, in many churches,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27people walk in and sit in the back row
0:12:27 > 0:12:30and the front rows are left empty.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Here, there is no back row, as it were,
0:12:33 > 0:12:37and so you are with people, there is a sense of wholeness
0:12:37 > 0:12:38and all belonging.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43Every day, the nuns and the students get together
0:12:43 > 0:12:45for tea and cakes with their families.
0:12:45 > 0:12:46For Matt Simpkins,
0:12:46 > 0:12:50the chapel is very much at the heart of their community.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53Actually, what happens in there is public.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55We don't just welcome visitors,
0:12:55 > 0:12:57but every time we take Holy Communion together
0:12:57 > 0:13:01we are joining with Christians across the world and across history.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03There couldn't be anything more public than that.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06And that's is why I love the chapel.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09As an elderly community, who used to be over 200 sisters,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12and now are down to us,
0:13:12 > 0:13:15it's lovely to know that we've been able
0:13:15 > 0:13:19to give something special to the future.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00When Jon Richards told his wife, Muriel,
0:15:00 > 0:15:03that he wanted to build a shed in their garden,
0:15:03 > 0:15:06she thought it was a good idea.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11But Jon's secret plan was actually to create something very different.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13The church plays a big part in Muriel's life
0:15:13 > 0:15:17and I thought it would be nice for her to have the chapel.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23The element of surprise was a big thing in my mind.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27I told her I was going to have a proper garden shed for once,
0:15:27 > 0:15:31somewhere I can work and I can have a television, radio.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34As Jon's so-called garden shed started to take shape,
0:15:34 > 0:15:36Muriel suddenly grew suspicious.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40The Gothic frame went in
0:15:40 > 0:15:45and I realised then what it was going to be - it was a clue.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47And then he had to tell me.
0:15:47 > 0:15:53So, it was just a wonderful, wonderful day for me.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55And I could have cried!
0:15:55 > 0:16:00Now the couple's big challenge was to scour Britain's reclamation yards
0:16:00 > 0:16:05to find the right artefacts to go into their special chapel.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09This particular crucifixion is bronze.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13I wasn't aware, until the time I saw this, how expense bronze was.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16The particular reclamation yard was in Bristol.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18He asked me if I wanted it.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20I said, "Well, I'm looking for something simpler,
0:16:20 > 0:16:22"it's just for a chapel in a garden."
0:16:22 > 0:16:26And he said, "Well, that's exactly where that deserves to be,"
0:16:26 > 0:16:27and he knocked a lot of money off.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31I brought it back and Muriel was delighted.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36In all, it took Jon 2½ years to complete the project.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Jon is amazing, that he took the time
0:16:39 > 0:16:43and the trouble to do this as a present for me.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47I think it gives me a lot of inspiration.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50Most days I go over in my own time
0:16:50 > 0:16:54and have the peace and tranquillity that it gives me.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Let us pray.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00And today, what is one of Britain's smallest chapels,
0:17:00 > 0:17:02is proving a big hit with local people.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06Once a month, Jon and Muriel hold a special service
0:17:06 > 0:17:09at the Chapel of the Crosses for the whole village.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13The monthly services are very important to us
0:17:13 > 0:17:16because we like to get involved with all the people
0:17:16 > 0:17:18that come to that service.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22They are regular people that come every time that we have a service.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25- ALL:- ..But deliver us from evil...
0:17:25 > 0:17:30Was it a romantic idea of mine to build a chapel for my wife?
0:17:31 > 0:17:33110%, yes!
0:17:33 > 0:17:36We are romantic people.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41I do believe that it was love that brought this on.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44We will do most things for each other
0:17:44 > 0:17:48and that's what we call love, really.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01During the more turbulent periods of English history,
0:20:01 > 0:20:03private chapels were sometimes used as safe havens
0:20:03 > 0:20:06to help people escape from religious persecution.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Here in Oxfordshire, Stonor Park has been in the hands
0:20:09 > 0:20:12of the same Catholic family for more than 800 years.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15And, like the Stonors themselves,
0:20:15 > 0:20:18its chapel has managed to survive some very testing times.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22It's thought that Mass has been celebrated
0:20:22 > 0:20:25at the Catholic Chapel of the Most Blessed Trinity
0:20:25 > 0:20:29every week since it was built in the 13th century.
0:20:29 > 0:20:30And, for one period,
0:20:30 > 0:20:35worshippers' pursuit of their faith became a matter of life and death.
0:20:35 > 0:20:41- This is where Mass was celebrated in secret.- Yes.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45- For a couple of hundred years. - Nearly 300.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49In 1533, when Henry VIII sparked the Reformation
0:20:49 > 0:20:51with the break of the Church from Rome,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Catholics were soon targeted and persecuted.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58So, many headed to the Chapel at Stonor Park.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01The families like us who had their own private chapel,
0:21:01 > 0:21:04they actually provided Mass centres,
0:21:04 > 0:21:06were Mass was celebrated.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10Those private chapels, it probably did more than anything else
0:21:10 > 0:21:13to help the Catholic faith survive.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17The Stonor family paid a heavy price for harbouring Catholics.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21When government agents learned that priest Edmund Campion
0:21:21 > 0:21:23had been hidden at the house,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25one family member was exiled for life
0:21:25 > 0:21:28and two others were jailed.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31Bill, this is a fascinating book.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33A Summary of the Penal Laws.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36So, this is laws restricting the lives of Catholics?
0:21:36 > 0:21:39Indeed, and also explaining what the penalties were.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42By the end of the 17th century,
0:21:42 > 0:21:45the number of Catholics had dropped to about 100,000.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48And all of that idea was to extinguish Catholicism.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50So, Catholics weren't just treated as second-class citizens,
0:21:50 > 0:21:52they weren't even citizens, in some respects.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56Absolutely not. They couldn't hold a public office,
0:21:56 > 0:21:58they couldn't go into the law.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01It must have been, for them, desperately, desperately depressing.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06Today, nearly 200 years after laws were introduced
0:22:06 > 0:22:09allowing Catholics to worship openly again,
0:22:09 > 0:22:12the chapel remains a very important place for many.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16The Camoys family are always very welcoming here,
0:22:16 > 0:22:21and you just feel a complete spiritual feeling,
0:22:21 > 0:22:23which envelops you when you are here.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27It's very important to welcome people here.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31There's been a long history of involving our neighbours,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34so that gives one great hope that the chapel will go on
0:22:34 > 0:22:39being used and being visited much longer than my life.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57Many private chapels have an open-door policy
0:25:57 > 0:25:59and often become a spiritual resource for outsiders.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02When Emma van Spyk set up her own chapel
0:26:02 > 0:26:04as part of a country retreat in Lincolnshire,
0:26:04 > 0:26:08she hoped it would provide support for the hundreds of visitors
0:26:08 > 0:26:10that she welcomed every year.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12What she couldn't have realised, though,
0:26:12 > 0:26:17was just how much it would help her cope with her own personal tragedy.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21Emma and her family moved into Wykes Manor, near Spalding,
0:26:21 > 0:26:23seven years ago.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27The first visit we came here, there was a huge, great candelabra
0:26:27 > 0:26:32that had been left standing outside what was the trap house.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35So, we just thought, "Oh, that's where the chapel's to be, then!"
0:26:35 > 0:26:37And it was as basic as that.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40From whitewashing walls to painting religious icons,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43the family spent four years working painstakingly
0:26:43 > 0:26:45to create their perfect chapel.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48But, just as they were nearing its completion,
0:26:48 > 0:26:51they were suddenly rocked by tragedy.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55It was a dark November evening and Emma's 18-year-old son, John,
0:26:55 > 0:26:58was late coming home from college on his motorbike.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Six o'clock, there was a knock on our back door
0:27:02 > 0:27:05and through the door walked a policeman.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09So, I just looked at him and I said, "You don't have to say anything.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11"Is he dead or is he wounded?"
0:27:11 > 0:27:14And he said, "He's dead, I'm afraid."
0:27:14 > 0:27:17And I said, "Was it instant?" He said, "Yes."
0:27:17 > 0:27:20I said, "Thank God."
0:27:21 > 0:27:27After John was killed, he lay in the chapel for nearly three days.
0:27:27 > 0:27:33So, all our friends and family said their goodbye that way.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36The chapel was very important in keeping John's memory alive.
0:27:36 > 0:27:41I think the chapel's useful for people to come
0:27:41 > 0:27:43and just sit there and, like, pray.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47We've had people who have just come and seen it and been,
0:27:47 > 0:27:49"Oh, wow! It's so cool!"
0:27:49 > 0:27:54I feel so lucky. It's nice to have a chapel there.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59Today, John's memory lives on through his
0:27:59 > 0:28:01paintings inside the chapel.
0:28:01 > 0:28:06I now have a permanent record of my son's talents.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09He was 16½, 17, when he painted these,
0:28:09 > 0:28:15so he probably would have gone on to great things.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21Let's offer them up to Our Lady as we say,
0:28:21 > 0:28:26Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
0:28:26 > 0:28:31And, three years on, the chapel which John helped create
0:28:31 > 0:28:34serves as the spiritual heart of their retreat.
0:28:34 > 0:28:39It's a place for everybody. It's not exclusive.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43Our personal Christian faith is the battery behind it,
0:28:43 > 0:28:45but it's open for everybody.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48In the name of the Father, and of the Son
0:28:48 > 0:28:50and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39Well, I hope you've enjoyed our journey around some of the wonderful
0:30:39 > 0:30:42private chapels across the country,
0:30:42 > 0:30:44many of which you can now visit yourself.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47You've been treated to some superb music and we're going to leave you
0:30:47 > 0:30:49with our final hymn today.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30Next week we celebrate harvest, and Claire visits Kenya
0:33:30 > 0:33:34to see how the humble Irish potato is transforming lives.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36There's music from Stuart Townend
0:33:36 > 0:33:40and from the southern Gospel quartet, the Taylors.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44And our choirs will be singing some great harvest hymns.